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The Emergence of the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States: An Aspect of African and Caribbean International Cooperation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

Extract

On 6 June 1975, 46 countries, 37 African, 6 Caribbean, and 3 Pacific signed the Georgetown Agreement establishing the African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). This agreement represents the culmination of months of cooperation and coordination among these countries in their negotiations to establish a new model of economic cooperation between themselves and the European Economic Community (EEC). Whatever the merits or demerits of the Lome Convention in specific economic, political, and institutional terms, there is general agreement that the protracted negotiations provided an opportunity for the 46 countries to forge links that have had and will continue to have far reaching implications for the efforts at mutual cooperation and effective action between Third World countries, particularly between those in Africa and the Caribbean, on the international scene. Isebill V. Gruhn (1976: 241) has suggested that:

The discussions leading up to the Lome Convention and the Convention itself are most likely of greater significance and interest, at least in the short range, to the student of international affairs than to the student of economic development.

To the extent that the emergence of the ACP is regarded as one of the most important outcomes of the Lome negotiations, the available evidence tends to support that interpretation.

The ACP marks a significant milestone in the years of endeavor to establish an institutional framework for Afro/Caribbean collaboration in international relations. It has long been accepted that on several of the major issues confronting the international community such as imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism, apartheid, and the restructuring of the international system, Africa and Caribbean have had similar interests. While these interests have been articulated by the various states at different international meetings, they have lacked an institutional arrangement for their harmonization and joint orchestration.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1979

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